My students need a Maker Space in the library. They need LEGO(r) Bricks & More Combo Set, K'NEX Intro to Simple Machines: Levers & Pulleys, Totter Tower, Gears & Gizmos, and CitiBlocs Wooden Building Blocks. They are learning about engineering and building. We need hands-on materials to build and learn.
The world around is fascinating, and we have so many feats of engineering to explore! The library has many books that describe interesting buildings, bridges, skyscrapers but those are just pictures. How do engineering concepts work on structures? We need to explore with hands on methods.
My students are in a Title 1 school and often come to school to learn about the wonders of the world around them.
We are more than 550 students, ages 3-13 in grades PreK-6th. Here, at school, we have computers to explore beyond our school and books to read and expand ideas; but, there are few places left where students can build with their own hands. Building sets provide the chance for curious children to read and then replicate things that they have read. Our suburban students are curious but often lack the opportunities of going to specialty camps or working in groups using their own hands to build, discuss, and work/learn as a team.
My Project
These building sets will be in the school library Maker Space. They will be used by whole classes and small, independent, learning groups. This will be free exploration time with an adult, there only to guide the questions that come to the surface. Books will be displayed to spark interest, and writing materials will be available to extend their learning from the building and making experiences. The materials help build a Learning Lab setting, where students learn teamwork, creative expression, and independence taking responsibility for their creations and care of equipment and materials. Magnetic building materials help students creatively construct many things like bridges to span space or tall buildings to defy gravity. Using these materials reinforces classroom learning about magnetic forces and engineering concepts of force and structural integrity. Wooden building materials provide a chance to explore dry-stacking methods a different style of engineering applying force.
These hands-on methods in a Maker Space provide a different style of learning opportunity.
The materials themselves will tap into different student learning styles and give brains a break from paper/pencil experiences. We need a Maker Space in our library, as we build an independent learning lab. The books are great resources, but students need concrete objects to manipulate and learn with as students gain more concepts in Math and Science.
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